Wednesday, May 30, 2012

I hear a lot from readers about buses speeding past stops, failing to pick up riders. This takes that lack of service to a new level.

From Matt:

On 20 May, I boarded the 96 bus west from New Jersey Ave. at approximately 3 p.m.

When the bus stopped near 10th and U St NW, two men were waiting to board. As the doors opened, it was obvious that both were mobility impaired in some way, as they were not moving very fast. The first man was trying to help the second onto the bus. The first man had his bus fare in cash in his right hand, which he was also using to brace himself on the bus as used his left hand to assist his friend onto the bus.

As the men were boarding, the bus driver decided to lower the bus. This caused the first man to lose his balance, stumble off the bus, and drop his bus fare on the ground. As he backed up to pick his bus far off the ground, the bus driver closed the doors on him and took off. The two men stared in amazement as the bus that they were boarding sped off down U St.

I was horrified to see this behavior by the bus driver. It showed absolute lack of compassion, and possibly malice, toward two disabled individuals who were trying to board his bus. It's even possible that one of the men had been injured by the bus that was speeding away. I wanted to stop the driver from moving away from the individuals, but being in the back of the bus I didn't have time before the bus was already two blocks down U St. I seriously regret I wasn't able to help the two men.

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